Language Learning In Higher Education Research Articles

The Challenge of the 21st-Century Agenda for Foreign LanguageLearning in England’s Universities

This article considers the political pressures for increased foreign language learningin England at the beginning of the 21st century, and the implications these havefor foreign language learning in higher education. I argue, from a Bourdieusianperspective, that restricted access to foreign language learning sustains socialhierarchies. By focusing on functional use, to the exclusion of symbolic value, andthanks to the serendipitous rise of English as the international lingua franca, theEnglish nation has been socialized into contentment with its monolingualism, oblivious to the ‘abusiveness’ of this situation. In the context of the EuropeanUnion, there is both a functional need for increasing the nation’s linguisticcompetence and a symbolic need to demonstrate England’s readiness tocommunicate with partner states in their own language(s). Tentative steps towards raisingthe status of foreign languages in England must overcome the internalized valuesof a hierarchical society, which has traditionally been able to stand apart from othernations. The article examines the recommendations of an independent inquiry, the issues that must be addressed if the nation is to embrace plurilingualism (herethe knowledge of two or more languages), and the role that the universities haveto play in achieving this goal.

ELLIPS: providing web-based language learning for Higher Education in the Netherlands

This paper presents the overall considerations and pedagogical approach which were at the basis of the development of an innovative web-based CALL application, Ellips (Electronic Language Learning Interactive Practising System). It describes the program’s most salient features, illustrating in particular the technical challenges involved in the realization of this multilingual, server-hosted, database-supported language-learning application. Ellips, the product of a cooperative project between four Dutch universities, offers effective web-based support for language learning in Higher Education (HE) institutions. Ellips focuses particularly on grammar training, listening and pronunciation skills; although it can be accessed on its own, it has been created with integration with virtual learning environments (VLEs) like Blackboard and WebCT in mind. As a matter of fact, Ellips offers functionality lacking in these systems, which have not been specifically developed for language learning and offer more assessment than practising opportunities. Moreover, in Ellips all learning materials are coded with language-specific metadata (mainly based on descriptors derived from the Common European Framework), so that developers can easily find and reuse materials and so-called ‘semi-adaptivity’ is allowed (students automatically receive more exercises on the topics which they have not yet mastered). Other important features of Ellips are full Unicode support, extensive feedback (for every item in an exercise and for the whole exercise), a student-tracking system, the use of (streaming) audio and video, and the possibility to record student input and store it in a portfolio.

MEETING NATIONAL NEEDS The Challenge to Language Learning in Higher Education

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsNina GarrettDavid Maxwell is president of Drake University and former director of the National Foreign Language Center. Nina Garrett is director of the Center for Language Study at Yale University. The authors would like to acknowledge their debt to Richard Lambert, Richard Brecht, and the late Ronald Walton (all of the National Foreign Language Center), as well as to their hundreds of colleagues in the foreign language profession who have generously shared their insights and their experiences.

Culture and Language Learning in Higher Education, by Michael Byram (Editor). Clevedon, Philadelphia, and Adelaide: Multilingua Matters Ltd., 1994. 111 pp.

Culture and Language Learning in Higher Education edited by Michael Byram. Clevedon, Philadelphia, and Adelaide: Multilingual Matters Ltd., 1994. Ill pp. Reviewed by Kylie Hsu University of California, Los Angeles Culture and Language Learning in Higher Education is based on an on learning foreign languages and cultures held in Manchester, England, in 1993. It consists of ten articles related to culture and language learning in higher education in England, Germany, France, and Denmark. The articles do not appear to follow any thematic format, though the first few seem to be more theoretically oriented, addressing issues in culture and language learning, while the later ones deal more with case studies. The book begins with an article by Dieter Kerl entitled, The Case of Landeskunde: A Vicious Circle? The German word Landeskunde literally means 'knowledge of the land.' Cultural Studies in Germany is known as Landeskunde, and has mostly been taught as an ancillary subject of language, literature, or other social sciences, but Kerl advocates giving Landeskunde a bona fide status in the academy. Making an analogy of studying Landeskunde with the study of medicine, he states, Just as a student of medicine has to study systematically the anatomy of the human body, a student of English has to study the 'anatomy' of Britain and the USA first before she/he can start teaching the language. Kerl devotes most of his international colloquium to explaining why it is important to make Landeskunde an independent field of study rather than retain it as an auxiliary subject of the social sciences. He also devotes considerable space to criticizing the state article of Landeskunde, but offers virtually no solution to the situation beyond calling for more research. Jean-Paul Revauger echoes Kerl's concern about the fact that cultural studies are seen mostly as an auxiliary in language teaching. In his article, Civilisation/Cultural Studies in Grenoble, Revauger suggests that prospective language teachers need to also acquire knowledge of political science, history, sociology, and economics in order to make language learning more attractive and efficient. Like Kerl, he acknowledges the lack of research in cultural studies and would like to see this area become a full- fledged discipline, or at least recognized as a multidisciplinary field. Unlike Kerl, Herald Husemann's From NIMBY Landeskunde to IMBY Cultural Studies does propose a way of teaching Landeskunde. NIMBY Issues in Applied Linguistics ISSN 1050-4273 Vol. 6 No. Regents of the University of California

Culture and Language Learning in Higher Education

The case of Landeskunde - a vicious circle?, Dieter Kerl cultural studies and student exchange - living the ethnographic life, Celia Roberts civilization/cultural studies in Grenoble, Jean-Paul Revauger cultural studies in English studies - a German perspective, Juergen Kramer documentary analysis in civilization studies - the French approach, Francois Poirier new cultural studies at Warwick University, Peter Green international cultural studies at Roskilde University, Karen Risager from NIMBY Landeskunde to IMBY cultural studies, Harald Husemann British studies in English language teaching, Edward G. Woods communicating in foreign lands - the causes, consequences and cures of culture shock, Adrian Furnham.

Making Use of Computer-Assisted Language Learning in Higher Education: A Report From UCLA

Making Use of Computer-Assisted Language Learning in Higher Education: A Report From UCLA